Camera lens carrying cases of various types are known in the art. These are frequently of a generally tubular shape and have traditionally been made of a semi-rigid material such as leather. A variation is to construct the lens case from a more flexible material, such as cloth. The lens cases may be either padded or unpadded.
A problem which exists in relation to camera lens cases is that camera lenses are available in a great variety of lengths and girths. This has resulted in the fact that a photographer must often purchase as many lens cases as he or she has lenses in order to accommodate them all. This situation is particularly unfortunate in that the lens cases may not be often used. The lenses may normally be stored and carried in a large equipment case, and a lens case might only be used during the occasional instance wherein the photographer wishes to travel lightly with, for instance, only a single camera body and one or two spare lenses. This means that the lens cases are, except during those relatively unusual usages, an unnecessary burden which take up valuable space in a camera equipment bag.
Various attempts have been made to make a camera lens case which is more versatile, in that it will accommodate lenses of differing sizes and/or a plurality of such lenses. Since lenses are quite fragile, they must be protected against being jostled about within the lens case. Therefore, any such case must provide some means for fitting the size of the case to the lens size. One such device is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,073 issued to Clark. The exterior of the Clark invention resembles three lens cases, each of a different size, grafted together. It will simultaneously carry therein a variety of different lenses. The Clark invention provides a unique solution which is quite useful in those applications for which it is intended. Nevertheless, it would seem that a need remains for a lens case which provides versatility similar to that provided by the Clark invention in a form which is less intrusive of space in a camera equipment case, and which is thus likely to be at hand to meet a spontaneous need in the field.
To the inventors' knowledge, all of the prior art camera lens cases have not been adapted for carrying a variety of different lenses of varying sizes and shapes, or else they have been large and difficult to store away when not in use.
None of the prior art single camera lens cases within the inventors' knowledge have been sufficiently versatile to adapt to various sized lenses without being too large to conveniently store in a camera case or else they have required an assortment of adaptive accessories to adapt to the different lens sizes.
No prior art camera lens cases, to the inventor's knowledge have provided a means to optionally carry either a single large lens or a plurality of smaller lenses in a compact configuration.
Furthermore, no prior art camera lens case within the inventors' knowledge has been well suited for carrying the lenses within a larger camera case, such that the lenses are easily accessible to the photographer, while the lens carrying case does not take up valuable space within the camera bag.
All successful applications to date have either not been capable of holding a lenses of various sizes and shapes, or else have not been adaptable to carry a plurality of smaller lenses, or else have been too bulky to store conveniently when they are not in use.